Alesha Robertson still playing ball

Published 5:38 am, Monday, June 14, 2010

After helping the Plainview Lady Bulldogs become a perennial powerhouse in the early portion of the last decade, Alesha Robertson went on to Texas Tech to further pursue a career in basketball.

And while Robertson's "organized" playing career seems to be behind her now, she continues to find ways to keep basketball in her life.

Firstly, after college Robertson traveled around and encouraged young kids for a year.

Robertson was then presented with several offers from international basketball leagues to continue her playing career. She made a brief attempt to play in Japan, but after some strange circumstances saw her replaced on her team, she decided she really wanted to come home to try and positively influence young kids.

So, Robertson returned to Lubbock where she became the head basketball coach at All Saints Junior High.

During her time coaching in Lubbock, Robertson attempted to set up a basketball organization similar in nature to Johnna Pointer's Hoop 10 in Amarillo called Hoop 55 - 55 being Robertson's basketball number - but then another change in circumstances altered Robertson's plans.

Pointer took a job as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Colorado, and immediately sought out Robertson to pick up where she was leaving off.

"When I was first asked to do this, I prayed a lot about it because I was just getting used to Lubbock, and when I was getting comfortable there God put this in my life," Robertson said. "But even though I was stepping out of my comfort zone, I took it because I thought it was a good opportunity to make a difference in kids lives.

"If anything I want to extend (Johnna's) goals. I want to bring in more kids because I think it's a good opportunity to make a difference in their lives. I'm focused on making them better at basketball, but I think the main purpose is to make a difference in their life. That is the most important thing to me."

Like Pointer before her, Robertson brings Division I college basketball experience with her, and she thinks that experience will be able to help the girls in the Hoop 10 program understand how to achieve success in basketball.

"I am really big on that every time you step on the floor you give it 100 percent, and sometimes girls don't understand what it takes to get to the DI level or the professional level," Robertson said. "And if you want it bad enough you can achieve it, and I think a lot of times girls don't believe that. I want to get through to these kids to believe in themselves because I believe in them and together we can accomplish anything. (Hoop 10's) goal is to get as many girls to play further than their high school teams."

And although she spends most of her time handing out instruction, she still finds ways to exercise her basketball talents. She plays in a church league in Lubbock and in Amarillo, and she said there are always individuals who want to test their skills in a little one-on-one.

"I always take them up on that," she said.

(Contact Ryan Thurman at 806-296-1355 or pdhsportsed@plainviewdailyherald.com. Become his fan on Facebook.)